x 4-corner low quality subs vs 1 high sub.

[Anish Chari]

I am designing a 17' x 21' home theater for 7.4.4. In a perfect world x 4 SVS-2000 corner subs would be the dream. It would also be almost $5000 Canadian. I just don't have that kind of money to spend on 25% of my total speaker needs.

I have been shopping around for used speakers as much as possible with good results. But quality subs are hard to come by; and even harder is buying 4 identical subs. So:

1. Would I be better off using 4 low quality subs (ie. Polk 8-10" are a dime a dozen but struggle to get into 30 Hz)
2. How important is 'timber' matching a 4-corner sub setup (in comparison to the LCR mains)
3. Would one big sub (ie. SVS PB 13) sound better than a 4 cheaper subs?

Thanks for the help!

 

[William Lemmerhirt]

Personally, I subscribe to buying the absolute best sub you can afford, and always keep in the back of your mind to get a second. Even if it takes a year. Even if you have 10 cheap subs, as you said, they’ll never be useful below their range. I’d get the best one you can and start saving. I’m not super familiar with the Canadian market so I can’t help much with a specific sub. Also, don’t worry about timbre matching to LCR. Not an issue.

 

[lovinthehd]

1. No
2. Not
3. Just not a worthwhile comparison due different capabilities and differences in seat to seat variances that multiples address that singles don't, etc. This is somewhat a drastic comparison...

Depends on your extension and spl goals and if more than one seat is involved....

 

[CB22]

Get the good sub. I make that mistake buy putting most of the cash into the speakers and cheaped out of the sub. Now I'm upgrading.

 

[TLS Guy]

I am designing a 17' x 21' home theater for 7.4.4. In a perfect world x 4 SVS-2000 corner subs would be the dream. It would also be almost $5000 Canadian. I just don't have that kind of money to spend on 25% of my total speaker needs.

I have been shopping around for used speakers as much as possible with good results. But quality subs are hard to come by; and even harder is buying 4 identical subs. So:

1. Would I be better off using 4 low quality subs (ie. Polk 8-10" are a dime a dozen but struggle to get into 30 Hz)
2. How important is 'timber' matching a 4-corner sub setup (in comparison to the LCR mains)
3. Would one big sub (ie. SVS PB 13) sound better than a 4 cheaper subs?

Thanks for the help!

Four lousy speakers are four lousy speaker. And those Polk subs are lousy. One good sub is a good speaker and you can add more later. Avoid lousy speakers like the plague always. Speakers are tough because most are lousy.